This invention relates generally to air purification and treatment and, more particularly, to systems and methods for purifying and treating air.
At least some conventional air purification apparatus include a housing defining a chamber. An inlet air duct is positioned at a first end of the chamber and an outlet air duct is positioned at an opposing second end of the chamber. A plurality of ultraviolet lamps are positioned within the chamber. Each lamp is coupled to a lamp holder mounted within the chamber to hold the lamp stationary within the chamber. A corresponding ballast and harness electrically couples the lamp to an electrical source for energizing the lamp. During operation, unpurified air is channeled through the chamber. The ultraviolet lamps are energized to generate ultraviolet light, which purifies the air as the air moves through the chamber. In at least some conventional air purification apparatus, ultraviolet light is able to travel through the air ducts to undesirably escape from the chamber. The escaped ultraviolet light may promote the degradation of plastic duct material and may also produce an undesirable glow along the duct work.
Additionally, the plurality of ultraviolet lamps and the corresponding electrical components occupy a considerable amount of space within the chamber and require a sufficiently large air purification apparatus chamber. Moreover, the arrangement of the ultraviolet lamps and corresponding electrical components prevents or limits a uniform ultraviolet density within the chamber. To compensate for the nonuniform ultraviolet density within the chamber, an ultraviolet light reflective layer is coated on an inner surface of the chamber to improve the ultraviolet density uniformity, which undesirably increases manufacturing time and/or cost.